Ultimate Lipstick Quiz

Lipstick is an integral part of many -- dare we say most -- women's lives. Buying your first lipstick is a rite of passage, and some women stay loyal to the same lip colors for years. You might never leave the house without lipstick, but how well would you do on our Ultimate Lipstick Quiz?

Start Quiz »

You scored

0 out of 20

Question 1 of 20

According to the 'lipstick indicator' theory, women buy more lipstick when the economy is doing well.

fact

fiction

almost fact: It's the other way around -- women tend to buy lipstick when the economy is tanking.

The lipstick indictator theory contends that when the economy is bad, women buy small luxury items -- like lipstick -- as an inexpensive pick-me-up.

Question 2 of 20

Wearing lipstick with no SPF could be worse than leaving your lips bare.

fact

fiction

If your matte or creme lipstick doesn't contain SPF, it will still offer a little more protection than nothing at all.

almost fact: This holds true for creme lipstick, but not matte.

Question 3 of 20

However, shimmery lipsticks and glosses could be harmful to your lips on a sunny day.

fact

Both shiny styles are actually suspect. They attract UV rays, which we all know can damage skin, especially the delicate lips.

fiction

almost fact: Glosses could be dangerous, but shimmery lipsticks are fine.

Question 4 of 20

You can get cancer from the lead in lipstick.

fact

fiction

While it's true that some lipsticks contain lead, there have been no documented cases of medical complications from wearing lipstick.

almost fact: Only people with a family history of a specific kind of cancer are vulnerable to the lead in lipstick.

Question 5 of 20

Permanent tattoed lipstick has been around since the 1950s.

fact

fiction

almost fact: It's been at least since the early 1900s.

A dubious character named George 'the Beauty Doctor' Burchett tattooed lipstick on many women -- with varying results -- in the early 1900s.

Question 6 of 20

The shelf life of the average tube of lipstick is about three months.

fact

fiction

It's somewhere in between -- around eight months.

almost fact: You can hang on to lipstick for about a year.

Question 7 of 20

The FDA says that lipstick can safely contain traces of horse brain.

fact

fiction

almost fact: Don't worry -- it's just cow brain.

Yes, it's true -- your lipstick could contain cow brain. An inexpensive type of fat can be extracted from it.

Question 8 of 20

Maybelline's Fire and Ice is one of the best-selling lipstick colors ever.

fact

fiction

almost fact: Revlon makes Fire and Ice.

Revlon's bright-red Fire and Ice was an instant hit when it debuted in 1952, and it's still going strong.

Question 9 of 20

Wax is no longer used in mass-produced lipstick.

fact

fiction

Wax is still a key lipstick ingredient -- from beeswax to paraffin and carnauba wax.

almost fact: Beeswax is no longer used, but other kinds are.

Question 10 of 20

A common claim is that women who use lipsticks end up consuming a tube of it per year.

fact

fiction

The claim is that lipstick users eat 4 to 6 pounds a year -- which adds up to 118 tubes. That sounds a bit off the mark, no?

almost fact: It's more like 10 tubes.

Question 11 of 20

Crushed beetle shells are sometimes used to give deep-red lipsticks their color.

fact

Sounds pretty old-fashioned, but beetle shells are used in certain red lipsticks -- usually to give a 'carmine' color.

fiction

almost fact: The beetle shells are used in exfoliating lipsticks.

Question 12 of 20

If you want to make your own vegan lipstick, you should stay away from lanolin.

Women do so many strange things to their lips in the name of fashion -- coloring, plumping, even injecting them with chemicals. But why are our lips red to begin with? And what's really in all these things that we swipe on (and pump into) our lips?